all crazy when my father brought her before the council.” He flexed his hand, the injury now
completely gone. “She ran away, unknowingly pregnant with my brother.”
Frankie scratched the back of his head, asking hesitantly, “And the Order... just let her go?”
“My father was told to retrieve her,” Snod replied, pouring himself another drink and moving to sit
down on the couch. “He told the council that he killed her because she wouldn’t come back with
him.” He smirked softly, adding, “But then sixteen years later, here comes Athaliah. Quite the
surprise.”
“He let her escape,” Frankie gasped in realization, smiling brightly.
“The council was less than pleased with him,” Snod chuckled as he stretched out. “He spent a month
in the stocks for it, lashed daily.”
“Ouch,” Frankie grimaced. He plopped down on the couch beside Snod, pulling his legs over his lap.
“What happened to Athaliah’s mother?”
“She had died,” Snod said with a shrug. “Car accident. The Order found out everything when social
services tracked down my father as Athaliah’s next of kin.”
“You think about him a lot,” Frankie noted.
Feeling a quick flash of guilt, Snod replied simply, “I miss him.”
“You know,” Frankie began, drumming his fingers over Snod’s shins, “you really could go get him.
Maybe once you get settled into a place of your own, get a job to support yourself. I would help you.”
“I told you how dangerous that would be.” Snod hesitated. “You would really do that for me?”
“It would make you happy,” Frankie said with a laugh. “Maybe you wouldn’t feel so guilty all the
time. It’s what you do when you care about someone, Obe. You do nice things for them.”
“Like... the flowers?”
“Exactly,” Frankie chuckled. “Except I’m not much of a flowers or chocolates guy. Just a heads up.
Even when I was alive, I enjoyed practical gifts. Books, paper, things like that.”
“Practical,” Snod echoed, thinking this over for a long moment. “What would be practical for a
vampire?”
“Uhmmm... A bunch of blood?” Frankie laughed out loud. “Oh, I don’t know. I don’t need anything,
Obe. Hmm, those flowers are really bothering you, huh?”
“No,” Snod said, scowling faintly. He shifted, reconsidering as he added, “Maybe.”
“You don’t have to court me,” Frankie said with a little smile, his fingers playfully drumming on top
